A Lawyer Answers Your Questions

MANY OF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED A SITUATION WHERE YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED. IT’S NOT SO BAD IF THE DELAY IS SHORT BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR YOUR FLIGHT FOR HOURS. DAYS, EVEN. WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF A PASSENGER IN THIS SITUATION? THESE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED BY LAWYER OSOKINA IRINA YURIYEVNA.

In case of cancellation or delay of a flight, rules of carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo by air transport come into effect, which are designed in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 76 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan of July 15, 2010 “About use of airspace of the Republic of Kazakhstan and activities of aircraft” and approved by the order Minister for investment and development of the Republic of Kazakhstan from April 30, 2015 No540.

Paragraph 38 states that, if a flight is cancelled, or delayed due to the fault of the carrier, due to the late arrival of the aircraft, or change of route, the carrier must provide passengers at the departure and intermediate points the following services:

a mother and child room (if available) for passengers with children under the age of seven

two telephone calls no longer than five minutes, including international, or two e-mails if the delay is no longer than two hours;

soft drinks if the delay is no more than 2 hours;

hot meals if the delay is four hours or longer, and the meals are provided every six hours in the daytime and every eight hours at night;

hotel accommodation provided by the airline if the delay is longer than eight hours in the daytime and more than six hours at night;

free transfer provided by the airline from the airport to the hotel and back in cases where hotel accommodation is arranged;

when cancellation or delay of a flight is due to the fault of the carrier for a period of ten hours or longer passengers shall be offered a choice between free of charge transportation to the next flight to the destination specified in the ticket, with the provision of services in accordance with this paragraph or a full refund of the ticket price. Passengers can request a written delay/cancellation statement from the airline.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS…

Paragraph 40 states that if the passenger transportation is delayed due to the fault of the airline, the latter shall pay the passenger a fine in the amount of 3 % of the ticket price (for the flight leg in which there was a delay) for every hour of the delay, if it proves that the delay took place due to the insurmountable force. The amount fined cannot exceed the value of the purchased ticket (for the flight leg in which there was a delay).